Brian Morrison

It all started for me during a trip to Kenya as a student. I was mesmerised by the place, the light, the colours, the people and the atmosphere. I had borrowed a friends Yashica SLR and went about starting my love affair with photography. At that point in my life I was an art student at Camberwell Art College. I had gone there with the dream of becoming an illustrator but this pivot would take me away from paint brushes and easels to the world of the camera and lens.

Photography felt like a natural fit for me, like trying on a jacket that just felt right. I finished my degree having spent the last year photographing the Newbury bypass protests, documenting the world of the protesters, how they lived and lengths they went to in trying to stop an ancient woodland being cut down in order for a new road to be built.

After College I had the opportunity to work for the Belfast Telegraph and a local news agency in Belfast. This was like an apprenticeship for the commercial world in which I would end up working. This was an invaluable experience, I learned the craft of creating an image that would tell the story and work for an editorial format. This was a massive learning curve, a sink or swim stage in my career where I quickly learned what worked well for editorial while developing my own brand of photography as well.

My core value as a photographer is to try and portray people in a positive light. I was inspired by renowned photographer, Sebastio Salgado. He gave people who had nothing more than the dirt on their feet a sense of dignity, grace and biblical stature. This is how I wanted to capture the world around me and this is how I go about telling the stories of the people I work with.

I have been blessed in my career to work for organisations such as Tourism Ireland, The National Lottery Fund, and The Red Cross alongside many other commercial businesses and agencies. I love image creation and I am always looking to evolve and progress in my work.